by admin | Apr 17, 2017 | Being Present, Hospice, Patients, Terry Yon
https://www.hospiceaustin.org/audio/god-are-you-near.mp3 Not long ago, Terry Yon was sitting at his kitchen table feeling sick and despondent. Diagnosed with cancer two years ago, he had endured colon surgery and undergone round after round of chemotherapy and...
by admin | Nov 30, 2015 | Being Present, Bereavement, Uncategorized
Today is the day that Keaton died in 2001, just before his 4th birthday. November 23rd: it’s a different experience each year. Sometimes it falls on Thanksgiving, as it was that night. The emotional experience varies each year as well. That it has become easier over...
by admin | Apr 21, 2015 | Being Present, Uncategorized
The previous three weeks had been hard ones. We’d gone too many miles on not enough gallons and even little comforts had been few and far between. A year-and-a-half into our travels, we were quite used to basic accommodations: small beds, lumpy mattresses, sheets...
by admin | Apr 29, 2014 | Being Present, Caregiving, Hospice, Volunteering
As soon as I saw the expression on the faces of the staff at Doug’s House, I knew something was wrong. Our patient, Mr. Smith,* they told me, was not feeling well and would be going to the hospital. He would have to miss the concert that had been arranged especially...
by admin | Feb 27, 2014 | Being Present
After a full summer spent volunteering on the border of South Texas, Bill and I set off, bicycles in tow, into Mexico. We rode buses and trains between destinations. Once we arrived, we either stored the bikes or used them to explore our new surroundings. The more...
by admin | Dec 2, 2013 | Being Present, Bereavement, Caregiving, Hospice
“On a scale from 1 – 10, rate your general sense of well-being.” Dr. Bob Friedman, the chief medical officer for CTPCA – Central Texas Palliative Care Associates – looked at my brother-in-law expectantly. “Pretty good. I would say it’s an 8,” Stuart responded. He’d...
